


Dance Practice

by LittleTurtle95



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eddie and Bill are just dense, F/M, First Kiss, Internalized Homophobia, Jealous Eddie Kaspbrak, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Love Pentagon, M/M, Minor Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, One-Sided Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Pining, Pining Eddie Kaspbrak, Pining Richie Tozier, Prom, Racism, Rated T for Trashmouth, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting, but not really, high school setting, pining Bill Denbrough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21818758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleTurtle95/pseuds/LittleTurtle95
Summary: Prom is approaching and Eddie Kaspbrak hates it.He knows Richie is going with someone else and it's not like he can complain to his best friend and say he's upset because he's jealous, could he?When he and Bill find out who's the girl he's going to prom with, everything changes for the both of them.Aka dance practice, a lot of pining, misunderstandings, a love pentagon, and spying with binoculars behind the trees.Prompt: "Young losers at prom"Pairing: Reddie
Relationships: Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier, Bill Denbrough & Eddie Kaspbrak, Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon & Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris
Comments: 8
Kudos: 165
Collections: IT Fandom Secret Santa 2019





	Dance Practice

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by Richie's and Beverly's cameo in 11/22/63, where Jake Epping sees them dancing in the Barrens.
> 
> Secret Santa gift for @hyperfixiationcore on Tumblr!

Eddie knew that he wasn’t going to get what he wanted, and he knew it because boys like him never got what they wanted. He looked down the street at _The Falcon_ and immediately noticed someone must have set it on fire again. 

The flames now were gone, but there was still smoke in the air and what was left of the bar was the door, some chairs and a lot of dark half burned wood.

He knew what people said about the bar, he didn’t know if the rumors were true but apparently it didn’t matter.

Derry had decided _The Falcon_ was a gay bar and it had to be closed, vandalized, destroyed. It wasn’t important if it actually was a gay bar or not. 

The _CLOSED_ sign hanging on the handle made him feel sick. It reminded him of the fact he was never going to be considered normal. 

The boy walked faster towards the school, he didn’t want anyone to see him hopelessly staring at the bar like that, he didn’t want anyone to find out, especially not Moose Sadler or any of his asshole friends.

When he finally saw the shape of the school building in front of him he sighed heavily.

He didn’t want to go to school lately, even more than usual now. Prom was approaching fast and he knew he wouldn’t be able to go with the person he wanted to.

That would have even been fine, he knew what he wanted was crazy and he accepted the fact he wasn’t going to have it.

The problem was the boy he really wanted to go with had the biggest chance to actually get a prom date, and that would definitely be heartbreaking.

Richie did really end up growing annoyingly attractive, and other people that weren’t Eddie now started to acknowledge this. 

He was tall but not so lanky anymore, he had changed the style of his glasses and he didn’t look so dumb in them now. His smile was less goofy and more charming than ever and Eddie was pretty sure he had the best hair in the whole school, but maybe it was because he was head over heels with him; Richie wasn’t only attractive, he was clever as well, he had the best grades except for behaviour, only because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut; but most of all, Richie was funny. His voices had gotten better than they had ever been before, his jokes miraculously on point for once and he made everyone laugh, not only the Losers Club.

Eddie found all of this terribly unfair. He’s liked Richie for much longer than the assholes at school. He’d liked him when his glasses were bigger than his face and the huge eyes behind them made him look like a bug. He’d liked him when his limbs were too long and his waist too thin; when his voices sounded all the same and his jokes sucked; when getting good grades wasn’t considered cool but just nerd.

It was too easy to fall in love with him now that he was actually cool. Eddie couldn’t stand the thought of some girl that only noticed him after his complete change was going to get him all for herself. 

It just wasn’t fair.

Richie didn’t have a prom date yet, Eddie would have known, but sure as hell he was going to get one. Worst of all, he was probably going to tell Eddie everything about it and he would have to force a smile and listen, because they were still best friends, after all.

He passed the gate with a frown, ready to start his first class of the day, that was supposed to be trigonometry. He hated it, obviously. He wasn’t good at it. Richie was.

Speaking of the devil, he spotted his best friend next to the entrance, chatting with Beverly with a smile on his lips, a cigarette loose in his fingers. 

Stanley was staring at them uncomfortably a few steps away, listening to what the two were saying, though he looked unimpressed. Eddie knew the boy hated when his friends smoked, almost as much as him.

When Eddie approached them, something weird happened. Both Beverly and Richie stopped talking, closing their mouths quickly and trying to look nonchalant. Stanley cleared nervously his throat, looking at him.

“How’s going, guys?” Eddie asked, glancing suspiciously at his friends.

“ _Ah-mazz-ing, Edward deear. Tickety boo, I wouldah say_ ” Richie said in his british voice, doing a small bow with a grin on his face. 

Stanley shook his head and rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. 

“Well, I'm going, have fun with your lung cancer. I have some homework to check before school starts.” he said, the bored tone he always used with them had something in it Eddie couldn’t quite place.

“I’m coming too, I’m finished anyway.” Bev added, as she threw her unfinished cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. She looked at Richie and Eddie could tell they were having a brief conversation with their eyes.

He opened his mouth to say she wasn’t exactly finished since the cigarette she had stomped out was only half used, and to ask why were they obviously trying to avoid him, but one second later they were already gone. 

The boy sighed and leaned on the wall next to his friend, his shoulder brushing to Richie's arm. 

_When did he become this tall?_ Eddie thought sharply. 

“And you, Eds? What do you say? Kissed your mama good morning for me?” Richie asked, passing an arm around his waist in an act of affection. He was the most affectionate of all the Losers, but not with just everyone. Only with Eddie. That drove Eddie crazy and this time was no exception.

He flinched at the sudden touch but didn’t push him away. The closeness killed him on the inside, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything else, so he sighed and leaned in a bit closer like every other time before.

“You’re so gross. Of course I didn’t. And don’t call me that.” Eddie groaned, used to the joke, but still no less annoyed by it.

The students were starting to crowd the garden in front of the school, pushing to come in. Someone glared at them in the process, probably because of the closeness between them.

It was Derry, after all.

Richie retracted the arm like he was burned and Eddie missed it immediately.

“You look… kind of off, bud” Richie said, letting his grin finally disappear. It was quite a rare sight, seeing him like this. He really must have looked like shit to earn such a reaction.

Eddie shrugged his shoulders and sighed again. 

“It’s nothing.” He whispered, trying to look away when the boy inhaled deeply from the cigarette and exhaled some smoke.

“I hate when you do that.” Eddie couldn’t help but say, even if it wasn’t quite true. He hated the fact that smoke was bad for him, and he hated how Richie looked hot when he put a cigarette between his lips. But he didn’t hate it per se. He loved it, instead. Maybe a bit too much. 

As soon as the words left his mouth, Richie dropped the cigarette mindlessly on the ground. “I didn’t like it anyway” 

“If you didn’t like it why the hell were you smoking that shit? You know it’s bad for your health, Rich”

Richie smirked, and Eddie’s heart stopped. “Because if I didn’t, you would have never asked me to stop, and how would I know that you care, then?” 

Eddie rolled his eyes, but his lips were curled up in a half smile.

“You’re an idiot.” he whispered, as they both decided to finally get in and go to their lockers, and then head to their class.

The school day was long, and boring, but Richie didn’t ask some dumb girl to prom, so Eddie decided it was a big win. He was going to get out and say goodbye to the other losers before heading back home when he heard a familiar voice calling for him from behind.

“Eddie! Cuh-could you w-wait for me a min-minute?” Bill asked frantically, coming out from lab class with a frown.

Eddie turned back to face him, half annoyed half concerned. 

For a moment, looking at his friend running towards him with worry and discomfort on his face, his mind raced irrationally to Pennywise. 

_He’s back,_ he thought, then shook his head. They killed It. They all did. It was gone. And even if It wasn’t, only three years had passed since its last apparition, that left twenty four more years to go before the next.

Eddie relaxed and glanced back for a moment, looking at Richie climbing in Mike’s truck to be taken home like he always did. _Fuck. I didn’t even say goodbye_ he thought, before focusing back on Bill.

“What’s wrong, Billy?” he asked, trying to sound earnestly curious about it.

“You’re wi-with me Eddie, rah-right?”

“Of course, you know that.” he said, worry starting to fill his chest. “What happened?”

The boy got closer and gestured him to listen carefully. Eddie nodded. 

“I th-think Bev has a p-prom date. I have to fuh-figure out who he is.” Bill whispered to his ear.

Eddie sighed with relief. “Oh my God, Bill. You scared me!” 

Bill grabbed his arm and pushed him the rest of the way out of school. The students were cheering for the end of the school day everywhere around them.

“You _sh-should_ indeed be scared, it is s-serious buh-buisness.” Bill hissed, walking fast towards his car and pushing Eddie all the way with him. 

Since he lived quite near the school Eddie usually walked home, but sometimes Bill drove him, especially during the winter.

That day was the beginning of May and it was really hot. There was no reason for Bill to drive him home, but apparently he had decided to kidnap him.

Eddie groaned, but he let his friend basically push him in the car. 

He understood how Bill was feeling, he knew his friend had the biggest crush on Bev for as long as he was crushing on Richie, the only difference was that Eddie was dead sure Beverly liked Bill back. 

Until that moment, of course.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked, rolling his eyes as he buckled up. 

“You k-know that I luh-love you, don’t y-you?”

“Well, I sure hope you at least love me, since I already know you’re going to get us in trouble. What do you want me to do this time?” 

“I heard her s-say she had suh-something to do th-this afternoon, w-we'll follow her and suh-see who she’s wi-with” he breathed out, starting the car.

“You want to spy on her? Oh my God, she’s gonna kill us if she finds out!”

“She’s not f-finding out, we’ll b-be c-careful”

“Okay, fine, but you’re doing my trig homework for a week”

“D-deal” Bill said, his face instantly lit up. “She suh-said she had d-dance practice at f-four, I don’t k-know where, so w-we're going to w-wait outside her house and fuh-follow her”

“Great.” Eddie sighed, looking out of the car window. At least hopefully he could think about something that wasn’t Richie for once.

Bill dropped him off at home and he greeted his mother with a kiss on the cheek like he always did. Sonia asked him everything about his school day and he told her he had to go study at Bill’s place soon. She didn’t like the idea but Bill was no doubt her favourite above all Losers, and she would never prevent Eddie from studying, so she agreed with a grunt.

They met in front of Marsh's house one hour later, hiding behind a bush in the garden of the unsuspecting neighbors across the street.

“This is so dumb.” Eddie muttered, when he saw Bill intently looking at Beverly’s door with fucking binoculars. He took his aspirator from his pocket and triggered it. 

“Sh-shut u-up, Eddie.” Bill whispered, kneeling on the ground, binoculars forced up against his eyes and between the bush branches. 

“What is she doing? Can you see her?”

“N-no, she’s s-still home juh-just wait”

“But I’m bored!” Eddie whined. “You’re doing all the looking and I’m here waiting for I don’t know what, and what if the neighbors look out of the windows or what if they go out and se-”

“Sh-sh-she’s going, sh-shut the f-fuck up!” 

“Woah, okay…” Eddie whispered, frowning.

Bill waited a few more seconds and looked as she walked away. As soon as she turned round a corner, he stood up.

“Okay, let’s g-go.” he muttered, taking Eddie’s wrist and walking fast back on the road.

“Why do you want to see who he is anyway? It’s only going to hurt more.”

“I w-want to be able to ha-ha-hate him in peace, that’s all.” Bill said, turning on the same corner where Beverly was mere seconds ago and spotted her down the street. “And I w-want to see what this fuh-fucker has th-that I have n-not”

Eddie rolled his eyes. Like all the Losers, he could not imagine someone better than Bill. 

Bill was just _right_ , he was all the movie heroes wrapped into one, he was the storyteller, the knight in shining armour, Bill was everything. 

The mystery dude certainly didn’t have anything Bill didn’t posses. It was just that love didn’t work like that. If it did, Eddie too would be in love with Bill instead that with... 

He saw the direction Beverly was taking and flinched. “She’s going to the kissing bridge, Bill, you sure you want to see this? You can regret it later if she-” 

“Fuh-fuck. You're rah-right Maybe I sh-shouldn't.”

“You totally shouldn’t.”

“Let’s g-go over there, she w-won't see us.”

“I hate you.”

“You d-don’t, otherwise you w-wouldn’t be here.”

They snuck down before the beginning of the bridge and hid behind a tree. 

“What is she doing? Is she still on the bridge?” Eddie asked under his breath.

“Yeah. P-probably they ag-agreed to m-meet here,” Bill replied in a whisper, eyes back on his green binoculars.

“There, Bill! Someone's coming!” Eddie nudged him and pointed at a figure on the bridge, blurry because of the distance. 

Bill frowned and adjusted his binoculars. After a few seconds, he cursed under his breath. “It’s-it’s only Ruh-richie. We s-still have to w-wait.”

Eddie bit his lip at the mention of his crush, his stomach flipping awkwardly inside of him. He hoped Bill didn’t notice, but he was so focused on Beverly it was unlikely.

“Weird,” Eddie whispered. “He told me he had homework today when I asked him to go to the arcade.”

“Muh-maybe he has a p-prom date too and he d-doesn't want you to fuh-find out. He has a ruh-ruh-ruh-radio with him” 

Eddie immediately froze, his heart stopping in his chest. He reached for his aspirator in his pocket again, his breath fastening dangerously. He shook it and triggered it in his mouth. 

“If Richie had a prom date I would have known by now.” he croaked, his throat dry. “And Beverly’s date is probably Ben anyway. Can we go now?”

“W-why would it be B-b-ben?” Bill asked. He was so dense with these kinds of things, he was the only Losers that didn’t know about Ben's endless crush on Beverly so far. But Eddie didn’t have enough time to point that out because suddenly Bill was yelling “Ha! Buh-bastard! Traitor! Fuh-fucker!”

“What? What, Bill? _What?_ ”

“It’s h-him. He t-took her fuh-fucking hand! They’re going t-to the Q-quarry hand in hand!” 

“What? Who, who are you talking about?” 

“R-richie! It’s him! T-that a-asshole!”

“Oh my God.” Eddie whined, shutting his eyes and biting his lips hard. “Oh my God, I should have known it, oh my God…” he was panicking. It all made sense now. The cigarettes before school. The awkward silence when he joined them. Everything.

“Wh-why are you fuh-freaking out? I sh-should be the one fuh-freaking out here!”

“Richie spends all his fucking time with her! Why didn’t I think about that? Fuck!” Eddie hissed, ignoring him blatantly.

“Honestly I wuh-would have said he suh-spends all the time with y-you, not B-bev”

“What if all the cig breaks are secret make out sessions? I'm fucking sick!” Eddie blurted out, unable to close his mouth shut. His chest was aching so much he couldn’t control what he was saying.

Bill tensed for a moment, his eyes going wide all of a sudden. “Oh m-my, Eddie. Y-you like…”

“No! Don’t say it! Don’t say it, it’s not true! I’m not-”

“You l-like B-bev too”

“Huh?”

“Why d-didn’t you t-tell me?”

Eddie's eyes snapped open. Bill was looking at him with his big clear eyes, disappointment and hurt on his face.

“I thought we were b-b-best friends”

“Yes,” he finally said, forcing himself to swallow the bitterness in his mouth. “I like Beverly too. I didn’t tell you because I know she likes you back and I didn’t want to ruin this for you”

“You th-thought she liked me back, buh-but she ob-obviously does n-not” Bill said, frowning. “But it was sw-sweet of y-you, Eddie th-thank you. Guess we’re p-pining buh-buddies now.”

“Pining buddies. Yeah.” Eddie sighed, looking helplessly at the couple on the bridge.

“Let’s g-get closer. I w-want to see”

“Bill, if you make me come closer and they kiss I’m gonna kill you and then myself, I swear to God.”

“Y-you r-really like her th-that much? I wuh-would never have guh-guessed.”

“Yes, I like her _that_ much.” he hissed, while Bill was pushing him towards them.

Now they could see them even without binoculars, safely hidden in the woods. They heard the music playing on the radio, and they could hear what they were saying, too.

Finally, the couple had started dancing right in front of them. 

They danced with grown up grace, despite Richie’s lanky legs and the height difference between them. It was painful to watch for Eddie, and probably for Bill too, but it was somehow endearing. 

Richie was wearing blue jeans and a crew-neck shirt, his glasses hanging dangerously low on his nose, ready to slip and fall to the ground. He was undeniably beautiful.

She had on a white blouse with the tails hanging down over faded red clamdiggers, her red hair handed back in a cute ponytail. It was no mystery how Bill, Ben, _Richie (Richie Richie Richie)_ and probably every boy at Derry High except for Eddie have had a crush on her at some point during the school year.

Richie and Beverly kept dancing. They were beautiful.

Both their hands clasped, he stooped a little and kicked with his left foot while she did the same, both of them twisting at the waist so that they appeared to be going in different directions, moved apart, hands still clasped, then she twirled, first to the left, then to the right.

Richie unsurprisingly goofed up the return spin and Bev went sprawling on the grass. Bill snorted.

“Fucking clumsy.” Eddie muttered sharply to his friend.

“Jesus, Rich, you never get that right! Gah, you’re hopeless!” Beverly said, but she was laughing. Richie was staring at her smiling and Eddie’s stomach hurt.

“Let’s go, Bill, I can’t… I can’t stand this”

“ _I_ _’ve sorry, Miss Scawlett._ ” Richie cried in a screechy pick a ninny voice Eddie hated with all his heart. “ _I’se just a clodhoppin country boy, but I intends to learn dis-yere dance if it kills me_ ” 

Eddie groaned louder and pushed Bill, who stood still, ignoring him and looking at the girl still on the ground completely lovestruck.

“I'm the one it’s likely to kill,” Beverly said jokingly, “start the record again before I lose my-”

“Bill! Come on!” Eddie snapped, pinching his arm. He couldn’t keep looking at them one second more.

They were laughing, teasing playfully and dancing together, everything Eddie had always wanted and he knew he was never going to have. It hurt. It hurt like hell.

“Uh-ouch! Okay w-weirdo. L-let’s go home.” Bill whispered, rolling his eyes.

“Why do you even want to look at them? Are you a fucking masochist?”

“I d-don’t know. Pro-prob-probably.” he said, walking back to downtown. 

“I can’t believe he did this to us!” Eddie cursed, anger filling his voice.

“I cuh-can't believe they d-didn’t tell us!” Bill echoed, now free to talk out loud.

“You should ask Bev to prom.” Eddie finally said, looking firmly at his friend.

“Wh-what? Why? She al-already has a pr-prom date.”

“She likes you more, I know this,” he said. _I have to believe this_ he added in his head. “She said yes to him only because he asked her first. But if you ask her out she’ll ghost him, I know this.”

“E-even if y-you’re right, and I’m n-not saying you ah-are, wh-why do you cuh-care? As long as she d-doesn’t go with y-you? Why w-would I be b-better than R-richie for y-you?” 

Eddie cleared his throat and sucked air in his aspirator to waste some time thinking about a reasonable reply.

“I care because… because I know she likes you more! And since I like her and I love you I want you two to be happy. There. That’s why.” he finished, with a satisfied grin. It was the perfect excuse actually.

“I’m s-seriously flattered, Eddie, b-but it wuh-wouldn't be f-fair to Richie.”

“Well, he wasn’t fair with you either. He knew you’re in love with Bev and he didn’t even tell you he asked her out! I understand why he didn’t ask you for permission, but he should have told you at least.”

“But he d-didn’t know ab-bout you, r-right?” Bill asked, frowning slightly.

Eddie shook his head. “Nobody knows about me”

“I think if he k-knew he wuh-would have never d-done that. He has a s-sort of s-soft spot for you.”

The words only made Eddie feel worse. “I used to believe it too, but apparently he doesn’t.” 

Eddie’s day got nothing but worse. He only wanted to sneak into his room and cry, or perhaps kick something, maybe do a Richie voodoo doll to drown it in the bath tub, but his aunts were visiting and he had to stay downstairs to let his cheeks be pinched – God, if only this didn’t make him think about _him_ – and to hear the loads of middle ages women coo about him and how he’d grown – but he knew he didn’t, he was still so short, as Richie reminded him constantly – 

_Stop thinking about him, you dickhead_ he warned himself, but obviously it didn’t work. Every time he blinked he had a brief vision of Beverly laying on the grass of the Barrens, of Richie looking down at her with a light hearted smile on his lips.

He excused himself saying he was feeling sick just to go upstairs and lay down for a while. He usually didn’t use his health as an excuse because his mother always freaked out when he did, but he thought it was going to be worth it. If he was lucky enough she would even tell him to miss school for the rest of the week and he wouldn’t have to look at him for a while.

She was that kind of mother, after all.

Obviously, he didn’t have such luck. His smart move only made things worse, because his mother was stuck in his room all day, fed him with a ton of medicine that made his head fuzzy and his stomach weird, and even forced him to sleep with her in bed to keep an eye over him during the night. 

The only thing he was able to think about during the whole day was what he saw in the afternoon with Bill.

The day after, despite everything Eddie had hoped for, he went to school anyway, with a heavy weight on his chest.

He was paler than usual and he was one hundred percent sure he had bad bags under his eyes, since he didn’t sleep more than two hours that night. 

He approached the school entrance when he heard a familiar voice calling for him.

“ _Wowzah, Eds! Whaddya say? Ya sick or somethin'? Ah'm worried!_ ” Richie said in his cheap Texan voice, and Eddie froze on the spot. 

“Seriously, you sick buddy?” Richie then added, hearing no response, a worried look on his face.

Eddie turned to glance at him and he saw he was with Beverly and Stanley again. _Stan knows_ Eddie thought, the sight of the three of them chatting the day before and weirdly shutting their mouths closed as soon as he approached them hit him like a slap. _Stan knows and they don’t want to tell me._

“I’m fine, thank you.” he snapped, he didn’t even complain about the nickname, it meant there was serious business going on. Richie flinched.

“You sure, Eddie? It really looks like you’re being sick.” Beverly pushed, looking at him with what seemed like earnest concern.

“I said I'm fine.” he deadpanned, as he turned his back to them and walked straight to his locker without a word. He saw in the corner of his eye Richie stepping closer reaching for him and Stanley stopping him with a shake of his head.

“Hey Eddie, what’s up?” he heard, and he rolled his eyes. Why did he have to have so many friends? He only wanted to be left alone with his misery.

Mike was smiling at him from his locker, next to his own. As soon as he saw Eddie’s expression his smile faltered. “You okay? Want me to take you to the nurse's office?” 

“Why are you all asking me if I’m okay? I already said I’m fine!” he snapped, slamming his locker open with a huff.

“Wow, sorry dude.” Mike replied with a frown.

Eddie sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. “Sorry, Mikey. Rough night.” 

His friend’s eyes softened. “No offence taken, bud. Tell me if you need help, my offer's still open.”

“I don’t want to go to the nurse's office, she’d call ma and I’d never hear the end of it. But thank you for offering.”

Mike smiled affectionately and rubbed his back to cheer him up a bit. 

“No problem, Eddie.” Mike said, as he absentmindedly took his books and started to lazily walk to English class. 

At least he attended this class with Bill, the only one of the losers he wanted to see at the moment. The only one he knew so far that didn't betray him. He took a seat at his usual spot and collapsed on the chair, head resting on the desk, closing his eyes. 

An eternity or a few minutes later, Eddie couldn’t tell, he heard the chair next to him move and someone sit in a huff. He opened one eye and saw Bill staring at him, ready to say something.

“Don’t, Bill. I know what you’re going to ask me. No, I'm not fine. No, I don’t want to see the nurse. Yes, you should take notes for me today.” 

Bill blinked in confusion, then simply said “W-wow, okay I guh-guess”

Eddie closed his eyes again and moved in his chair trying to get more comfortable.

“I th-thought about what y-you said y-yesterday” he heard Bill say, and hummed to let him know he was listening.

“I’m g-going to ask h-her out today. At l-lunch.” 

Eddie sighed in relief and refused to open his eyes just yet. That news had made him feel better. Beverly would have said yes, she would have dumped Richie and everything would have gone back to normal. 

He hummed again in agreement and for the first time that day his lips curled up in a smile. He knew Beverly liked Bill, he knew he had read this right. Nothing could go wrong this time.

The lessons before lunch passed in a blur. He was feeling slightly better, but he was still scared and annoyed and mad. He was utterly convinced that his friends were conspiring against him and Bill, and the fact that Richie didn’t tell him he had a date made him feel bad even if he knew he was probably going to lose his date soon.

He walked in to the cafeteria looking hesitantly at his friends. They were already there, sitting at the table chatting normally. This time when Eddie showed up, they didn’t stop talking.

 _It’s cause Bill is there. They're hiding this from him, too,_ he thought, taking a seat between Bill and Mike. He noticed Beverly and Richie were sitting close, that made everything in him scream silently.

“Are you feeling better, Eddie?” Ben asked, concern filling his voice.

“A bit.” Eddie said, putting his sandwich on the table and glaring at it. 

“What did that sandwich do to you to get that look?” Richie snorted, noticing his deadly stare.

“Just not hungry.” he sighed, without looking up from the plate.

He felt a hand on his knee and flinched. Bill was squeezing his leg and he heard him clear his throat. Eddie reached for his friend’s hand with his own and squeezed it back for comfort. That was it. 

“B-beverly, can I a-ask you something?” Bill muttered, flushing slightly. 

Eddie’s eyes immediately went fixed to Richie, who was looking curiously at Bill while he spoke. 

“Of course you can!” she replied, sounding hopeful. 

_It’s working_ Eddie thought, focused on Richie’s expression. He didn’t look concerned about the turn of events, but he probably hadn’t understood what was happening yet. 

“Wuh-would you mind cuh-coming to prom with… with… wi-with m-me?” he blurted out in embarrassment. 

Ben started to cough furiously, spitting his Coke everywhere on the table, and Mike automatically slapped his back to make him stop, looking sympathetically at him.

“Oh, well, yes! I’d love to, actually!” she said smiling, her cheeks red. 

“Oh, guh-guh-great. Great” Bill muttered.

“Great, yes.” she chuckled. If Eddie had stopped staring at Richie only for a moment, he would have noticed Ben’s face had just turned somehow green.

“Richie, how are you?” Eddie blurted out, noticing he didn’t flinch in the slightest when Beverly finally accepted Bill’s invitation. 

The boy turned to look at him in confusion. 

“I’m good?” he answered hesitantly. “Shouldn’t it be me to ask you how’re you since you’re the one that’s sick?” 

Eddie felt Bill stepping on his foot as a warning and he suppressed a yelp. 

“I was just… wondering… that’s all…” Eddie finally whispered.

“Wuh-would you come at m-my place t-this afternoon? T-to talk about it.” Bill said, directed to Beverly. 

She looked over at Richie and he furrowed his brows without saying a word. _Weird_ Eddie thought.

“Oh, hum, I have something to do this afternoon, unfortunately. I have… I have to help my aunt clean the windows. I promised.” 

_What a shitty excuse_ Eddie thought bitterly.

“Okay, n-never mind. N-no problem.”

“I’m so sorry, Bill.” 

“It's o-okay. R-really.” he smiled, and Richie shrugged.

“He said he’s fine, Bev. No need to apologize so much. You’ve got something to do, no big deal” Richie said bitterly.

Hearing that, Eddie groaned loudly and stood up. That was too much. “Okay, I'm definitely sick, I'm going to see the nurse.” 

Richie stood up immediately after. “I’ll take you. Better if someone keeps an eye on you.”

“No!” Eddie yelled, too louder than intended. “I want Bill. Come on, Billy, let’s go.”

Richie blinked a few times looking like someone just slapped him in the face.

“Okay…” he whispered, and sat back on his chair still with a shocked expression on his face.

Bill reached quickly for Eddie and grabbed his wrist, pushing him out of the cafeteria.

“That was weird.” they heard Stanley say to the others as they walked away.

“Duh-did you hear t-that? They’re s-still meeting t-today.” Bill pointed out with a big grin on his face.

“Yes, I heard that. How…? Why…?” 

“M-maybe he’s t-teaching her t-to dance because she wuh-wants to impress m-me!” Bill suggested, with a dreamy smile.

“I don't think so. It looked more like _her_ teaching _him_ how to… holy fuck.” Eddie cursed, under his breath.

“W-what now?”

“Beverly is teaching Richie how to dance because he wants to impress someone! It’s the only explanation! And that means…”

“That R-richie has a prom d-date that isn’t B-beverly!” Bill cheered.

“Why are you fucking grinning?” 

“B-because Beverly didn’t h-have a date yet and I d-didn’t ruin my f-friendship with Richie. Wh-why are you fucking f-frowning? Wh-what's the problem with R-richie having a d-date?” 

“Nothing! Nothing at all, there’s no problem at all with Richie having a prom date, Bill!” Eddie snapped a bit too loud, some students turned to face them in confusion.

“Wh-why are you yelling n-now?” Bill asked, starting to worry, then he widened his eyes and said “Oh.”

Eddie’s heart froze for a moment. “Bill, listen, it’s not like-” 

“I almost f-forgot. Shit I’m s-such a shitty f-friend. You still l-like Bev, and I'm cheering like an- like an- like an idiot.” 

Eddie suppressed a relieved sigh and nodded. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, I’m not mad, I swear. I’m not even going probably.”

“D-don’t say t-that, Eddie, you d-don't have t-to,” he said, “and if it buh-bothers you I can c-cancel with Bev, y-you know.”

“That won’t be necessary. Thanks.” 

“D-do you s-still want to g-go see the n-nurse?” 

“Yes, Bill, please. I really am sick, it’s not just that.” he pleaded, and it was true. He was feeling really nauseous, and his head ached like hell. Not to mention he didn’t get enough sleep.

When the nurse checked on him she immediately signed him out for the day. He managed to convince her not to call his mother, and Bill offered to take him home.

He asked Mike if he could take notes for him the rest of the school day and he left with his friend, the eyes of the other Losers fixed on his back as they walked away.

“Thanks, Bill.” he sighed, throwing his bag in the backseat as he jumped in the car. 

“No p-problem, buddy. But since I g-got you outta school n-now you owe m-me.” he said smirking, as he started the car.

“Yeah, of course. What do you need?” 

“You k-know Beverly is p-practicing her d-dance skills and I d-don't want to l-look like an i-idiot”

“William Denbrough.” 

“Mh?” he said, smirking and giving him a side look.

“Eyes on the road!” Eddie yelled, making him snort. “Are you really asking what I think you’re asking?”

“I d-don’t know. W-what do you think I’m a-asking?”

“You’re asking me to dance practice with you so you can impress Bev at prom.”

“Y-your’re p-pretty smart f-for being a c-complete tuh-turd sometimes, E-eddie.”

“Fuck you! And don’t stutter my name, I already told you I hate it.”

“Hey! Y-you said you w-wanted to help!” 

“Won’t your parents notice you’re not coming home after school?”

“S-school doesn’t end in a-another hour, besides, t-they don’t give a fuh-fuck anyway about m-me so…”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.” Eddie whispered. He knew Bill’s parents acted cold towards him since what had happened, but he usually didn’t mention it and it was easy to forget about it. 

Bill was strong. Bill never complained. Well, at least when Beverly wasn’t involved.

“I'm used t-to it.” he said, finally stopping the car in front of Eddie’s home.

“You f-feeling better n-now?”

“Yes. I guess I only had to relax a bit.”

“D-dancing will be f-fun, you’ll s-see.” 

Eddie rolled his eyes. 

“I can imagine.” he groaned, finally getting out in the driveway. 

Surprisingly, Bill was right. Dancing really was fun, Eddie discovered, and after a few minutes he didn’t even think about the fact Richie was doing the exact same thing as him to impress some dumb chick from school or whoever she was. 

They had to lock the door and close the blinds, they didn’t want to be seen by either Eddie’s mom and someone walking down the street that could look straight to the window.

People could think they were… well, what Eddie was. Nobody was supposed to know that and in Derry a rumor like that could mean death.

Once they were safely hidden behind the house's walls and once Eddie found his mother’s old radio they started dancing, and Eddie found it entertaining, at least. 

“Eddie, on the l-left! Jee-jesus, it’s not that hard!” 

“Excuse me, _Micheal Jackson_ , I didn’t know you were this good already!” Eddie huffed in frustration. “And why do I have to play the girl? Couldn’t you do that for once?”

“B-because Beverly is p-practicing the g-girl part, ob-obviously, so I’ll have t-to do the b-boy's one.”

“Of course…” he groaned, falling on the bed.

“C-come on d-dude! I n-need this!” 

“I don’t even want to go to prom! Nobody asked me to!” he whined, pressing his face on the pillow.

“Y-you are t-the one supposed t-to ask the guh-girls out, Eddie, n-not the other w-way round.”

“Well, I don’t want to ask anyone.”

“Y-you should. You c-could ask Greta, f-for ex-ex-example. I’m sh-sure she would s-say yes.”

“ _Greta?_ " he asked in a high pitched voice and rolled on his back to look at his friend. “Greta who? Greta Bowie?”

“W-well, yes.”

“Do you remember Greta was the one who wrote insults on my cast that summer, right?”

“O-of course I re-remember!” Bill replied, outraged. “But it w-was y-years ago! Now she’s a-always staring!”

“Yes, she stares because she hates me, Bill! And she’s an ass anyway. She bullied Bev because she wore second hand clothes till freshman year!” 

“O-okay, Jeez, I was o-only trying to help!” 

“I don't need your help.” he grunted, and quickly stood up. “Now start the record again before I change my mind”

Bill smiled. “D-don’t you e-even b-believe you can fuh-fool me, Eddie Kaspbrak. I k-know you’re having fuh-fun.”

“I’m so very not.”

“Th-then why didn’t you use your in-inh-inh… your as-spirator once since we s-started? Y-you f-forget about it when y-you’re having fun.”

Eddie’s face became bright red all of a sudden. “I… I don’t… it's not…”

“D-don't worry, Eddie, I w-won't tell anyone y-you loved being t-twirled with _The t-time of my l-life_ from Dirty Dancing in the b-background, you’re s-safe with me.” Bill snorted.

“Oh, just fuck off!” Eddie yelled, pushing him playfully. Perhaps dance practice wasn’t so bad, after all.

The days that lead to the prom went surprisingly normal. Eddie tried to act cold towards Richie at first, but the boy was being extra sweet with him and he ended up failing miserably, and hating himself for it. 

He still thought about his misery and his bad luck, and he still wondered bitterly about who the lucky girl was going to be, his chest aching every time, but he didn’t let this affect his behaviour at least when he was with his friends.

Sometimes he ended up staring, and often he found Richie staring back at him, for some reasons. 

Form what he knew, Richie and Beverly kept meeting for dance practice and he and Bill did too, even if Eddie found it useless, at least it was good for his daily mood most of the time.

The nights were always the worst. During the nights he spent hours staring at the ceiling with the utter certainty there was something wrong with him and nobody could ever understand him completely. He felt alone. 

He rolled endlessly from one side of the bed to another, trying to figure out who Richie wanted to dance with, feeling worse every time a new face came to mind. Greta Bowie, Sally Mueller, Marcia Fadden, every one of them until he finally fell asleep from exhaustion. 

During the worst nights he imagined him kissing them too, and it sometimes made him cry. 

The night before the prom was one of those nights.

He went to school that day with _lack of sleep_ written on his face. He walked lazily through the garden and stopped at the entrance, where Beverly, Richie and Stanley were deep in their usual chatting. They looked excited. Well, Richie and Beverly did.

“Eddie!” Stanley yelled, a bit too loud, and Richie coughed vigorously. Beverly awkwardly patted his shoulder and Eddie didn’t hate her for it this time.

“Rough night, Spaghetti?” Richie asked as soon as he recovered from the sudden cough. He patted the empty spot next to him on the wall and Eddie obediently leaned there with a sigh. “You’re cute when you’re tired, you know that, right?”

“You have no idea.” he deadpanned, used to Richie’s weird teasing “And I’m not cute”

“Aren’t you excited guys? Today’s the day!” Beverly cheered quickly changing the subject, looking maliciously at Richie.

“Of course we are, right, Stan the Man?” Richie asked, winking at him. 

Eddie wished he could roll his eyes. _God, they’re so obvious_ he thought, but he didn’t say it.

What he said instead was “Oh, I’m not coming anyway.” 

The other three froze suddenly, Richie looking at his friends for help. Eddie was looking intently at his shoes, completely missing the exchange.

Beverly nudged Stanley on the ribs and he cleared his voice. “Oh, how… why? Why don’t you… want to come?” 

“Yes, Eddie, we’re going to have fun!” Beverly added. 

Eddie shrugged, still refusing to look up. “I’ve got no one to go with, it doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“I don’t, either!” Richie nearly shouted, Stanley stepped on his foot and shot him an eloquent look. The boy coughed a few times in embarrassment. “Well, we don’t. Me, dear Staniel, Ben, Mikey, we're going all together. To chill out. Right, guys?” 

“Exactly!” Beverly commented. “And it’s not that I’ll be with Bill all the time, I’ll spend time with you too.”

Eddie wanted to scream. He knew Richie was lying, he knew he had someone to go with, he was sure of it. But he couldn’t say it, it would be like admitting he and Bill spied on Beverly days before, so he swallowed hard and looked up for the first time since the conversation started.

“Is Ben going to come?” Eddie asked, seemingly without reason, his eyes fixed on Richie’s.

“Ben?” Richie asked, furrowing his brows.

“You heard me, Rich. Is. Ben. Going. To. Come?” 

“Well, I don’t know. Why shouldn’t he?” 

Stanley looked at Eddie like he knew. For a moment he really feared his secret has been revealed, maybe they were all making fun of him, but Eddie didn’t want to believe that. 

They would never do something like that to him. Not Bev, not Stan, especially not Richie.

“Yes, Eddie. Ben is going to come with us.” Stanley said, slowly.

Eddie sighed. If Ben could do it, maybe he could too. If Ben could survive seeing Bill and Bev kissing maybe he could deal with whatever was waiting for him.

“Eddie?” Richie asked, his tone surprisingly soft. The boy flinched. He never called him with his real name. How was he supposed to say no to something like that?

“Fine. But someone will have to drive me there. I’m not walking to school all dressed up. And it can’t be Bill because he’s driving Beverly so one of you will have to pick me up.”

“Mike will!” Richie said, a huge grin on his face.

“Mike should say that Richie, not you” Eddie reasoned.

“He loves you, Spaghetti, he’ll say yes, just ask him and see!” he laughed, messing up his hair. 

“Hands off, dipshit!” 

“Have I ever told you you’re the cutest pasta in the world?” Richie insisted, trying to tickle him.

“Stop, Rich, God, you’re disgusting!”

Stanley rolled his eyes and grabbed Beverly’s arm.

“Okay, we're done. Have fun.” he muttered, finally going inside.

“You’re not going to regret this, Eds, I swear!” Richie kept telling him, hugging him tightly. Eddie’s heart felt like it was going to explode.

“Okay, weirdo. But you’re not calling me Eds tonight. You owe me, since you’re the only reason I’m going along with this bullshit.”

Richie immediately parted from the hug, and Eddie for a moment regretted his use of words, fearing it just revealed too much of the truth. 

Richie was looking at him like he understood the gravity of the sentence, like he really knew the not so hidden meaning behind it. He was standing dangerously close. Eddie held his breath.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, when Peter Gordon glared at them and hissed “fags” before getting past them and stepping in the school.

“Yeah, ask your sister if I am one, hear what she’ll say about it.” Richie yelled towards him, but the boy had already disappeared into the crowd.

“We should get inside.” Eddie whispered, shaking his aspirator and breathing deeply. 

“Eds, wait-”

“Not my name, Richard.” he said, walking fast to his locker. 

That was it. He couldn’t even hug his friends in Derry, that was all it got to be called names. It was a fucking curse. And Gordon was dangerous, he couldn’t risk it.

Plus, being what he was was a bad thing. Richie didn’t want to be called one. Nobody did.

This was going to be a fucking long day.

Surprisingly, Mike agreed to drive him to prom that night, and he couldn’t retreat this time. 

Everybody in school was excited, in the air there was this electricity they couldn't explain. Couples walked together down the corridors, friends were howling with laughter going from one classroom to another, plans were being made, people talked about dressing up in every corner of the school. 

Beverly and Bill couldn’t keep their eyes off each other and Ben didn’t say a word for the entirety of the school day. It helped Eddie a bit, it made him feel less alone and he felt guilty for it.

When he was finally back home, he started to feel nervous again. His mother cooed about him all the way up the stairs, praising him and how much he’s grown, asking him not to forget her in adulthood, and even began to cry when Eddie locked himself in his room. He ignored her.

“Well, fuck. Okay.” he cursed, opening the closet and looking helplessly at the powder blue tuxedo Bill forced him to buy the week before while he bought his white one 

_“Do y-you think B-beverly is g-going to l-like it?”_ he had asked, and Eddie thought that everyone was going to like it. Bill really looked like the white knight with that on. _“You s-should buy t-this one, Eddie. It s-suits you.”_ he then had added, and after a few protests Eddie had finally agreed.

He sighed and undressed quickly in front of the full length mirror he had in his room. He looked at the reflection and didn’t know if he liked what he saw. He never found himself quite attractive, but his looks weren’t what he was disappointed the most about himself. 

“Come on, Eddie. Come on. You can do this.” he muttered to himself, throwing the suit on the bed, the muffled cries from his mother coming from downstairs. “Come on Eddie. Here we go.” 

He put on his blue trousers and a white shirt. Somehow he managed to fix the oversized bow tie, and finally the suit jacket. Two white shoes and he found himself looking at the mirror being quite pleased with what he saw. 

“I’m going to have fun. I’ll be with Stan and Mike and Ben and we’ll have loads of fun. We'll laugh because everybody is going to goof around while dancing, – _not Richie, he practiced, he’s going to be cool_ – and maybe Bill and Bev will be crowned – _Ben will feel even more miserable than me, I can focus on him instead_ – and when everything will be over – _maybe the girl will find out how much of a prick Richie is and she’s gonna_ – focus, Eddie. When everything will be over you’re gonna go back home and that will be it.”

He walked to the bathroom to shape his hair with a knob of gel, _“Eddie bear, look at you, my beautiful young man! You’re going to come back one day, pack your stuff and leave me forever!”_ and now all he had to do was wait. 

“It’s just prom, ma, it’s not a big deal.” he huffed, falling on the couch in the living room.

“It’s not just prom, Eddie bear, it’s never just prom. It’s you with your grown up things to do” Sonia whined. “It’s you finding a girl…”

“I don’t want to find a girl”

“But you will.”

Eddie sighed. He couldn’t just say to his mother he wasn’t going to find any girl ever because he was a damn fairy, so he muttered an “I hope so.”

He glanced nervously at the clock. “Mikey’s late.”

Sonia immediately frowned. “You’re going to school with that Hanlon boy? I thought Bill was going to take you.”

“Bill is picking up his date. Mike will be fine”

Silence followed. He saw Sonia making a disgusted grimace and tensed. 

“I wouldn’t have to be picked up if you just let me get my license.”

“Don’t be silly, dear. Driving is too dangerous. And what if you have an asthma attack while driving, huh? What if?”

“I’d pull over. It’s easy”

“I don’t trust that boy anyway. I didn’t even know _his_ _kind_ was allowed to attend prom.”

Eddie stood up, gasping “ _Ma_!”

“What now?”

“Do you even hear yourself when you’re talking? Mike’s a friend of mine! He’s kind and intelligent, and…”

The doorbell rang and it startled them both.

“And he’s here. Bye.” he hissed, walking towards the door.

“Eddie, honey, there’s no need to…”

The slam of the door finally shut her up.

“Sorry, Eddie, I know I’m late, my grandfather…” 

“It's okay, let’s just go Mikey. Fast.”

“Oh, okay, sure. Is everything-”

“Yes.” he replied, getting in the truck. His face softened.

“Just… thank you for picking me up.” he finally said, smiling at his friend.

“Oh, I don’t mind. I like driving. It’s fun. And we’re going to have fun tonight.”

“Yeah, everybody keeps saying that, but I’m not so sure about it.”

“Really? Why?” 

“I don’t know. Just a feeling.” he whispered, nervously taking his aspirator in his pocket and triggering it. “It’s not like there’s going to be something special.”

“I think you’d be surprised.” Mike criptically said, while Eddie was mindless staring out of the car window.

The drive was short and mostly silent, _Billie Jean_ was nearly finished when Mike stopped his truck in the parking lot. 

Eddie had never seen the school garden so crowded before. Cheap decoration hung down the entrance – everything in Derry was cheap, they couldn’t have nice things, could they? – cars were parked everywhere, way more than the average school day. Muffled music came from inside and everybody was dressed up fancy for the night.

“You ready, Kaspbrak?” Mike asked, making him jump back to focus.

He nodded, half smiling, trying to gain enough confidence to get out of the car.

_Everything is going to be okay. You won’t even notice his presence. You’re going to stick with Mike, you like Mike. Everything is going to be okay._

He watched his friend jumping down and looking expectantly at him, so he quickly followed.

“I really needed a night out.” Mike said happily, walking towards the entrance. Peter Gordon and Marcia Fadden were hand in hand a few steps ahead of them.

“Didn’t he cheat on her with Greta last week? I thought they broke up.” Mike whispered to his ear.

Eddie shrugged, trying to hide a grin. It wasn’t Marcia, then. He hated her, he was happy that she wasn’t the one going with Richie.

He was probably going to hate whoever she was anyway, but the fact that it wasn’t her somehow comforted him.

“They deserve each other, I think they’re doing just fine.” he whispered back, directed to the gym. 

If Eddie thought the garden was crowded he soon acknowledged he had to sort out his priorities, because it was nothing compared to the gym.

The room was almost unrecognisable, _Take on me_ was playing and a lot of people were dancing, others were chatting happily near the walls. 

Eddie thought he spotted Beverly’s red head twirling in the left corner of the room. 

Something that looked like an arch of cheap plastic flowers was at the entrance welcoming the students, and a moon shaped cardboard painted in bright white was hanging down the wall. 

“Derry style, right?” Mike barked out, laughing.

“Derry style.” Eddie admitted bitterly. That meant ugly, they both knew that.

“Look! Here they are!” Mike suddenly yelled and Eddie’s heart stopped. He was going to turn and Richie would be dancing with someone else, they would be having fun and Eddie would have to run away and fuck all his good intentions.

But that wasn’t what happened.

First, he saw Ben. He was sitting on a chair near the wall, sighing deeply looking at the couples dancing on the dance floor. 

_Great, the misery already started_ he thought, rolling his eyes up.

Immediately after, he saw Stan. He had one furrowed brow and a sharp grin, he was clearly teasing someone. He noticed them and waved. 

Finally, he saw him. 

The first thing Eddie thought was _Thank God, he’s not with her yet._

The close second, as Richie turned to face whoever Stanley was looking at, was that he was stunning.

With a black waist length Spencer jacket, black jeans and white sneakers, but most of all the biggest grin Eddie had ever seen on his face, his friend was undeniably beautiful. 

“Hey guys! Come here!” he yelled, nervously fixing his glasses, his smile didn’t falter a bit. 

They pushed to get there, Ben didn’t seem to be aware of their presence just yet.

“Mike, my man!” Richie cheered, giving him a high five. The boy smiled and shot him with a weird knowing look, turning finally to greet Stan.

Eddie frowned. _Weird._

“Looking good, Kaspbrak!” Richie said so earnestly Eddie couldn’t help but feel his cheeks on fire.

“Thanks. You look good too.” he muttered, looking awkwardly at anything that wasn’t him. “Richie, listen…” 

“Yes?” he asked expectantly.

“Who’s the lucky one, then?” he finally blurted out. He couldn’t stand this uncertainty one second more. He was sick of it. He wanted to know now and if Richie was going to find out he spied on him then be it.

“Who’s… who? What?” he looked genuinely confused, but Eddie wasn’t there to be fooled.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Richie. I know you have a prom date. Why didn’t you tell me? I am your best friend!” he snapped, anger filling his voice. Mike and Stanley gave them a brief startled look before turning back to the dancefloor in embarrassment.

“Eddie, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m not playing dumb, I swear.”

“I saw you, okay?” he challenged. “I saw you practicing with Bev near the Barrens. I know she’s been teaching you, you’re trying to impress someone and I want to know who she is.”

For one moment Richie looked like he had just been slapped in the face. 

“You saw me?” he almost yelled, eyes wide in fear, but a moment later his face drastically changed. He was grinning even more than before and he barely suppressed a giggle.

“What the fuck are you laughing at?”

“That’s why you kept acting weird lately! You thought I was coming to prom with some girl!”

“I wasn’t acting weird and I didn’t _think_ you were going to prom with some girl, I _knew_ it! And I still don’t find it funny, Rich.”

“You’re so stupid, you know that?” Richie whispered, the grin only growing wider. 

“Well, fuck you. I’m going to look for Bill.” he hissed, but Richie was quicker, holding his wrist. 

“Wait! Okay, I’m the idiot, you’re not. Please, let’s start again. Please, Eds.” 

“I thought we agreed with no Eds tonight.”

“True, my fault, okay, sorry. _Eddie_ please don’t go.” he pleaded, sounding so desperate that Eddie gave up.

“Well, okay. Apologies accepted. But I’m still waiting for the answer. Who’s the lucky one, then?”

Richie squeezed his wrist before letting go and shrugged. “It’s… it’s easier for me if you’ll just follow me upstairs. Will you?”

“Upstairs? But school's closed! We can’t just go upstairs.”

Richie looked at him shrugging his shoulders, with such a hopeful expression Eddie found himself sighing deeply. 

“Fine. Show me the way.”

The boy smiled so wide Eddie feared he would have lost sensibility in his cheeks, as he followed him out of the gym. They didn’t even tell Mike, Stan and Ben they were going away, like there was no need to.

“It’s going to be a lot for you probably. And if I, um, had read things wrong you can tell me to fuck off. We’ll never talk about this again, okay?” he whispered, waiting for one group of friends to go past them to sneak the way to the stairs.

“Richie, what the hell did you do? Should I be worried?”

“Fuck, no! Well, at least I hope not…”

Eddie shook his inhaler and triggered it in his mouth. They would probably be in a lot of trouble if they got caught in the hallways while everybody was at the party. 

At least it really looked like there was no prom date, which was weird but also reassuring. 

They stepped up the stairs in silence, except for Eddie’s harsh breath. It was driving him insane.

“You’re awfully quiet, Rich. Could you just tell me what the fuck-”

“You spend half your time telling me to shut up and now you want me to start talking?” Richie joked, the smile still on his lips but he looked worried and he was shaking slightly.

“That’s because normally I’m not scared you did something so fucked up. Man, really, do you want me to help you hide a body or some shit? Because I don’t want to go to jail and dead bodies could bring a lot of sicknesses and-”

“No dead bodies, okay? You think so little of me? You wound me! If I had to hide a dead body I’d just make Mike’s animals eat it like everybody does.”

“First off: _yuck_ , gross. Second: you really do have a plan about how to hide a body? Now I’m seriously concerned. Third-” Eddie started to rant, when Richie suddenly stopped walking making Eddie stumble on his feet.

“What the fuck, Rich?” he hissed, then looked anxiously around, afraid that someone could hear them. 

The boy was looking at the door in front of them, his fingers nervously playing with his sleeve. 

“Here, that’s it. Play it cool, Richard. It’s okay.” he heard him whisper, and Eddie furrowed his brows in confusion.

Richie hesitantly grabbed the handle and then turned to look at him. “You were right. I asked Bev to teach me how to dance because I wanted to impress someone.”

“Okay.” Eddie managed to croak out, he didn’t know why but his mind had just decided to start spinning.

“Just don’t freak out. And whatever you think about this don’t stop talking to me. I can’t do this if you may stop talking to me.”

“Why would I stop talking to you?”

“Just promise, Eddie.”

He nodded briefly, slowly letting out a deep breath. “I won’t stop talking to you no matter what's behind that door.”

“Okay.” Eddie heard, so faint he thought it could be his imagination, when Richie lowered the handle and let him inside.

As soon as Richie switched the light on and carefully closed the door behind them, his heart stopped.

“What… what is all this?” he asked in a whisper. 

It was their English class, the one right above the gym. The music from the floor below was loud, louder than it was in the hallway, like it was playing right next to them.

All the desks and chairs have been moved near the walls, to make space in the middle of the room. 

Hanging on the wall, fixed with a ton of tape, there was a cardboard sign written in what looked like red pencil that said 

**_PROM?_ **

Eddie looked at it with wide eyes, like it scared the hell out of him, or like he was afraid this was all a big fat joke.

“It had to be here because, you know, we’re in fucking Derry. I just can’t ask you to dance with me downstairs, right? They’d fucking kill us, I can’t even fucking grab your arm that I’m afraid something is going to call me out, this had to be more… private.” Richie explained, breathing fast, looking at Eddie desperately trying to read his expression.

“Ben helped me out with the place, he told me which room would be best for the sound. Haystack is so fucking smart for this kind of building stuff, you know.” he explained carefully, visibly trying not to freak out.

“Stan planned with me and listened to me, and wrote the sign because my handwriting is… well you know it’s messed up, right?” he asked, laughing awkwardly, but Eddie didn’t reply, so he kept talking.

“Beverly obviously helped me with the dancing, even if I’m a dork and she’s a good teacher but I’m absolutely a lost cause so don’t get your hopes too high. In case you’re getting some kind of hopes and you’re not hating me right now.” he blurted out the last part like he seriously believed Eddie could ever hate him. It was ridiculous.

“Mike had to pick you up, and be late so I would be able to move all this stuff before you came, to be ready to, well, show you.”

“Bill?” Eddie asked almost out of breath, his brain trying to process everything he just heard.

“Bill didn’t know, the fucker tells you everything, he can’t keep his mouth shut with you.” Richie explained, shrugging, then cleared his throat. “Eddie, man, just say something, I’m on thin fucking ice over here. I don’t care about what, just say something, please.”

The boy snapped back into focus, realising he should indeed say something, anything, otherwise Richie would read this wrong and leave. He didn’t want him to leave. Not now, not ever.

“You were right, earlier.” he finally managed to say, his voice shaking with fear. 

“I was right… when? When was I-”

“That’s exactly why I was acting weird lately and why I didn’t want to come. I saw you dancing with Bev, and I found out you had someone to go to prom with, so I… I was…” 

“What? What were you?”

“Please don’t make me say it out loud.” he whined, but Richie shook his head.

“I want to hear that. Please.”

“I was jealous.”

“Eddie, I-”

“I’m not finished.” he snapped, and Richie flinched. “I was jealous because I wanted to be the one you were going to prom with and I knew I wasn’t because we’re in fucking Derry and there was no way you too were… well. Like I am. And not even that, but for it to work you both had to be that and like me back. And it was impossible.”

“But it wasn’t. Because it’s true, it’s exactly what it is. That’s why I did all this, because I am… I like you. A lot. And I wanted to go to prom with you but I knew I couldn’t because boys don’t ask out other boys, not in Derry, not anywhere else as far as I know but I wanted to, so I planned this out and I asked for help and I-”

He never got to finish the sentence because Eddie Kaspbrak, out of all people, decided it was the right time to kiss him on the lips. 

Richie wasn’t going to complain about that.

It took a few moments for him to make his brain start to function again, but when it did he quickly cupped the back of Eddie’s neck with one hand and kissed back with all his strength.

Eddie was afraid his heart was going to rip off his chest. He never thought Richie would have been so smooth and sweet. 

He sighed in the kiss when he felt one of Richie’s hands on the back of his neck and he caressed his cheek, earning a soft happy hum. 

Everything around him was Richie. He smelled him, he touched him, he tasted him, he heard all the faint little noises he was making for him, because he was kissing him. 

The thought forced a small moan out of him and Richie took advantage of it and deepened the kiss. The insides of Eddie were burning, as he held Richie for dear life. 

When they finally had to part to catch their breath, they were both smiling.

“ _Wowzah._ ” Richie blurted out, head still numb, and Eddie snorted.

“Fuck. Now the word you’ll always remember I said after our first kiss will be _wowzah_. I wanted it to be something cool. Saying cool is uncool, right? I shouldn’t have said it. Now there’s no way I can sound cool to you ever again. It wasn’t cool at all, was it?”

Eddie shook his head trying not to burst out laughing not to embarrass him even further. 

“It wasn’t at all. Maybe you should try again and see if you have something better to say after.”

he joked, and Richie didn’t have to be told twice. He grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer, pressing their lips together.

Their second kiss lasted shorter than the first one but was just as intense.

“You’re fucking amazing, I think I love you.” Richie breathed out as soon as they parted, and then looked at him in fear.

“Okay, that was much better.” Eddie joked, smirking. “I think I I love you too.” 

“Nice.” Richie whispered awkwardly, clearing his throat.

“Yeah, _nice_ , weirdo.”

Richie opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly the song playing in the background changed, and Eddie’s face lit up immediately.

“Did you hear that? I love this!” he gasped, an excited smile on his lips.

Richie looked at him completely lovestruck, before offering his hand.

“Time to put this dance practice to good use, waddya think?”

Eddie took it in his without hesitation. “Show me what you’ve got Tozier, I can’t wait.”

“You’ll have to take me out for dinner first for that, Kaspbrak” he said with a wink, pulling him closer and holding his waist with his free hand.

“I think that could be arranged.” Eddie commented, winking back at him.

Richie blinked in shock at the words. “If it’s a dream I hope I’m not waking up ever again.” 

“Shut up for once and dance with me, will you?” Eddie asked, rolling his eyes up, and Richie finally obliged.

_Now I’ve had the time of my life_

_I never felt this way before_

_Yes I swear it’s the truth_

_And I owe it all to you._

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Then Bill and Bev get crowned king and queen, Stan and Mike laugh all the evening commenting on the goofy couples, and Beverly asks Ben for a final dance making him the happiest boy on earth, the end.


End file.
